Week 157: Red Robin, Yummm!
- elenalilamartin
- Jan 11
- 3 min read
Week 157: January 4th-10th, 2026
As many of you know, a good jingle or catchy commercial will stick with me for years. I am a walking regurgitated advertisement. Marketing works on me exactly how the corporate goons want. I parrot a slogan almost as easily as I recite my birthdate or my middle name.
Growing up in the Bay Area, specifically in the city of Berkeley, meant I was not subjected to chain restaurants like Applebee's (See Week 118!), Texas Roadhouse, or Chili's, etc. like most suburban Americans. I found joy in college telling people I'd never been to Old Spaghetti Factory before, or experiencing a "Bloomin' Onion" at Outback Steakhouse for the first time with friends at age 22.
This week, I dove deep into the archives of my brain to find a slogan I am quick to echo while watching television: the classic "Red Robin, yummm!" Just like I have never been to Arby's ("WE HAVE THE MEATS!"), until this week, I had never been to Red Robin.
If you want more Red Robin commercials, though I'm not sure why you would... You can check out the official @RedRobinBurger YouTube Channel.
The closest Red Robin in San Diego County is in National City, at the Plaza Bonita mall.
The vibes of the restaurant were giving me a combination of Five Guys (mainly due to the red tile and diner feel) and Chili's. We sat at a booth by the kitchen, which inadvertently allowed me to be nosy and see what was going on back there.
An obligatory history lesson: Red Robin apparently started in the 1940's in Seattle as a tavern near the University of Washington (Go Huskies!). Now, there are approximately 498 restaurants across the USA and Canada.
Our server was a very adorable, young white woman named Jasmine who had a slight accent that we couldn't place (maybe Midwest or Southern?).
The Red Robin menu is not as extensive, expensive, or overwhelming as The Cheesecake Factory, and had similar (but cheaper) options to BJ's. Since I donated blood this week, and my period is coming up, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to get a burger and replenish some iron with red meat. I got the "Smashed Avocado N' Bacon" burger: "Freshly smashed avocado with red pepper flakes, hardwood-smoked bacon, Swiss, onion, lettuce, tomato and mayo."
My boyfriend (surprisingly) did not get his usual choice of a turkey burger and instead got the "California Chicken Sandwich" (no bacon, no pickles, mayo on the side).
Every entree is served with your choice of side, and they are BOTTOMLESS(!), so we shared the caesar salad and steak-cut fries (though we only got one re-fill each).
It was funny, I had to eat my salad with a plastic fork because Jasmine said none of the servers could find any in the back. I didn't really mind, but I do wonder what happened there, cause it seems like forks are an important utensil for a restaurant.
My burger was pretty good, though it was a little greasy with the addition of the bacon. I thought the prices on the menu were very reasonable, especially for people with large families. I can understand why chain restaurants like this are a staple in American cities.
I'm not sure when I will return, but I am glad my first time experiencing Red Robin was a positive one. Now I will have to find another establishment with a catchy tagline that I haven't tried. Arby's has been on that list for a while with "WE HAVE THE MEATS," but it is not that appealing to me. We'll see.
Bonus: Surprise! Another pretty sunset! I took this photo while we drove to National City.
See you next week.
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